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The Russia Investigation: Trump Pardons Flynn (4 Viewers)

Understand that Russia doesn’t dare pull this #### if the US is in the normal position as an ally. 


Alexander Litvinenko, 2006. Litvinenko's death made international headlines after the defector was poisoned in 2006. It contributed to hostile relations between Russia and the UK. Polonium, a radioactive element, was slipped into a cup of tea that he drank. Russia has always denied any part in his death, despite a public inquiry formally accusing two Russians of carrying out the killing on the behalf of Putin.

 
Oh.

Kyle Griffin‏Verified account @kylegriffin1

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A man who registered as a Green Party candidate for Montana’s Senate race was on the state Republican Party’s payroll and heads a newly formed anti-tax group, according to a review of election documents.

 
 @BillKristol

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This is RUMINT, but pretty credible RUMINT: Trump preparing to fire Sessions, name Pruitt Acting AG (which he can be since he already holds a Senate confirmed position), and Pruitt fires Mueller. And McMaster likely to be replaced by Bolton. Shulkin also on way out, FWIW.

 
Matthias said:
Really? I like the fact how it diminishes the idea that it was an actual, "investigation."
I don't care about putting it in quotes.  The spelling error is making my OCD tendencies go berserk.

 
 @BillKristol

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This is RUMINT, but pretty credible RUMINT: Trump preparing to fire Sessions, name Pruitt Acting AG (which he can be since he already holds a Senate confirmed position), and Pruitt fires Mueller. And McMaster likely to be replaced by Bolton. Shulkin also on way out, FWIW.
Pruitt?  At least it will get him out of the EPA.  Shulkin's lost his mind.  I can't remember where I saw it but he has a guard outside his office now.

 
has Trump said anything?
White House: "This latest action by Russia fits into a pattern of behavior in which Russia disregards the international rules-based order, undermines the sovereignty & security of countries worldwide & attempts to subvert & discredit Western democratic institutions and processes"

 
White House: "This latest action by Russia fits into a pattern of behavior in which Russia disregards the international rules-based order, undermines the sovereignty & security of countries worldwide & attempts to subvert & discredit Western democratic institutions and processes"
Chances of Trump having any involvement in drafting this....zero

too many big words and not enough adjectives

 
Chances of Trump having any involvement in drafting this....zero

too many big words and not enough adjectives
The Trump version:   Putin said Russia didn't do it.  I asked him twice.   UK's immigration policies allowed dangerous bad guys into their country.  BAD!

 
 @BillKristol

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This is RUMINT, but pretty credible RUMINT: Trump preparing to fire Sessions, name Pruitt Acting AG (which he can be since he already holds a Senate confirmed position), and Pruitt fires Mueller. And McMaster likely to be replaced by Bolton. Shulkin also on way out, FWIW.
If this happens Paul Ryan is going to be really, really disappointed. And very concerned.

 
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 @BillKristol

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This is RUMINT, but pretty credible RUMINT: Trump preparing to fire Sessions, name Pruitt Acting AG (which he can be since he already holds a Senate confirmed position), and Pruitt fires Mueller. And McMaster likely to be replaced by Bolton. Shulkin also on way out, FWIW.
Things will blow up very quickly if that happens.

 
 @BillKristol

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This is RUMINT, but pretty credible RUMINT: Trump preparing to fire Sessions, name Pruitt Acting AG (which he can be since he already holds a Senate confirmed position), and Pruitt fires Mueller. And McMaster likely to be replaced by Bolton. Shulkin also on way out, FWIW.
The House Intel committee shutting their investigation down is coming more into focus. I get the strategy of what Trump is trying to do, but I don't see how it's going to work out in his favor. The smart thing for any innocent or not guilty (and there's a HUUUUUGE difference between those two things) president would obviously be to do nothing and let the investigation play out. That's what every president other than Nixon has done. We get these stories every month or so about Mueller being fired, so color be skeptical until it happens. But I see a few scenarios if it does happen this time.

1. Most likely: Trump is rid of Mueller but not rid of the investigation. Pruitt's comments during the campaign make me doubtful that he's a full on Trump crony. I thought Sessions would have been, and he clearly has not been. If Pruitt won't stop or wet paper towel the investigation, not a whole lot changes. Trump has no chance of confirming an AG who doesn't promise the Senate he won't mess with the investigation, so Pruitt is one of the only options.

3. Less likely: Trump is able to end the investigation, but it comes with a "file what you can in the next month and shut the door." That gives Congress time to act. Maybe Pennsylvania and Alabama have been wake up calls, but probably not. Either way from publicly available info, it seems like Mueller has chargeable evidence On Don Jr., Kushner, Stone, and a bevy of other Trump family members and allies. This seems like a negative.

4. Unlikely: Trump is able to shut the investigation down totally and tomorrow. The financial crimes seem to be going to state prosecutors. One of Mueller's top deputies goes on 60 Minutes either next week or right before the election and outlines all of the evidence that they had (I mean, at least everything that wouldn't implicate national security) on everybody. If that happens before the mid-terms, the Republicans are even more ####ed than they look now. That might force some movement from Congress either before or after the mid-terms.

What's the upshot? Am I totally missing a good option for Trump? His best option is to shut the #### up and hope that Mueller can't find anything on him. He can pardon (or commute sentences if he's smart) whoever he wants when he's on his way out the door.

 
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 @BillKristol

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This is RUMINT, but pretty credible RUMINT: Trump preparing to fire Sessions, name Pruitt Acting AG (which he can be since he already holds a Senate confirmed position), and Pruitt fires Mueller. And McMaster likely to be replaced by Bolton. Shulkin also on way out, FWIW.
He would still need to be confirmed if Sessions is fired but I take it he could still be "acting" AG just like Pompeo will be "acting" SOS.

This might also explain Trump firing everyone all at once - Rex, McMaster, Kelly, etc. What a nightmare. To quote Donnie boy "SOMEBODY DO SOMETHING."

 
He'll justify firing Mueller based on house committee findings and closed investigation.
Sure the ol' sandbag. The HSCI report and its preceding memo may have been specifically drummed up just for this.
Definitely.  The WH has been running the committee through its representative puppet Nunes, way back to when it fed him info on unmasking, unethically.  It continued to their final report.  Shameful if they were capable of shame.

 
https://twitter.com/kylegriffin1/status/974048862439649280

Adam Schiff to @AriMelber: "There are indications that there were at least some memorialization of discussions between the president and Comey that would shed light on the issue of obstruction of justice."
Isn't this just Comey's notes?  Or am I missing something?

By the language used, it does not sound like anything that Schiff has any personal knowledge about.  Hate to bring the hearsay conversation back up - but this would seem to fit almost any definition you used.

 
 @BillKristol

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This is RUMINT, but pretty credible RUMINT: Trump preparing to fire Sessions, name Pruitt Acting AG (which he can be since he already holds a Senate confirmed position), and Pruitt fires Mueller. And McMaster likely to be replaced by Bolton. Shulkin also on way out, FWIW.
I thought there was a clear line of succession for AG and Trump couldn't just appoint an acting AG. 

 
Isn't this just Comey's notes?  Or am I missing something?

By the language used, it does not sound like anything that Schiff has any personal knowledge about.  Hate to bring the hearsay conversation back up - but this would seem to fit almost any definition you used.
Maybe it’s the tape recordings that trump said he had, until he didn’t 

 
I thought there was a clear line of succession for AG and Trump couldn't just appoint an acting AG. 
So there's a massive flaw with the idea that President Donald Trump might oust Attorney General Jeff Sessions and replace him with Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Scott Pruitt.

Pruitt, contrary to some initial belief, would have to face a Senate confirmation hearing. Such a hearing would prove to be brutal if Pruitt was tasked with replacing Sessions, who has caught Trump's ire because of his recusal from the Russia investigation being run by special counsel Robert Mueller and overseen by Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein.

On Wednesday, Vanity Fair reported that two Republicans in contact with the White House said there have been discussions that Trump could replace Sessions with Pruitt, who would not be recused from the Russia probe.

Vanity Fair initially wrote that Pruitt would not be subjected to a confirmation hearing since he was already confirmed to his post as head of the EPA, but soon amended the story to note that Pruitt would indeed face another Senate confirmation.
http://www.businessinsider.com/flaw-with-trump-replacing-jeff-sessions-with-scott-pruitt-2018-3

 
Recess appointment?
The Senate can make recess appointments nearly impossible

Then-Sen. Jeff Sessions (R-Ala.) in 2014. (Jonathan Ernst/Reuters)

When it overruled Obama, the Supreme Court also gave the Senate a wide latitude to decide when it considers itself to be in recess and when it's out. Today, a recess has to last at least 10 days before the president can legally make an appointment.

The court also approved a loophole the Senate can use to leave town but still block a president from having free rein.

The Senate can go into “pro forma” sessions, which exist almost entirely to prevent a president from making recess appointments. In a pro forma session, the Senate can gavel into Congress — with no legislative business being conducted — and claim it has been in session. “The whole thing takes 20 seconds,” said Cornell Law professor Josh Chafetz. The Senate could theoretically gavel in/gavel out the whole time it's gone in August.

It's up to Republicans to decide if they want to hold the line against Trump

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-fix/wp/2017/07/27/how-trump-could-replace-jeff-sessions-in-a-recess-appointment-and-how-republicans-can-prevent-that/?utm_term=.e5dbafcd89cb

 
Former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort is asking a federal judge to throw out five criminal charges against him. 

A lawyer for Manafort argued in court filings on Wednesday that the charges had nothing to do with special counsel Robert Mueller's investigation into possible collusion between the Trump campaign and Russia.

The court filings acknowledged that Mueller had been given a broad mandate to prosecute any alleged crimes that may arise from his overarching Russia investigation, but called that the special counsel had cashed a "blank check."

"The appointment order here purports to give the Special Counsel power to investigate a specifically identified matter and anything that arises in the course of the investigation, without further consulting or obtaining approval from the Attorney General or Acting Attorney General," the filings read.

"The regulations do not allow for such an expansive appointment."

Manafort previously filed a lawsuit arguing that Mueller's actions have extended beyond the mandate of his investigation and prosecutorial authority.

The motion to dismiss the charges on Wednesday also signals that Manafort is likely to continue to fight the charges. Rick Gates, a longtime associate of Manafort who was indicted alongside him last year, pleaded guilty last month and is cooperating with investigators.

The charges against Manafort stem from alleged money laundering, tax evasion and fraud spanning years before he went to work on President Trump's campaign. 

After Gates pleaded guilty last month, prosecutors filed an additional 18 charges against Manafort. 

http://thehill.com/homenews/news/378531-manafort-asks-judge-to-throw-out-criminal-charges

 
The "sure I committed dozens of crimes but what does that have to do with the Russia investigation??!! " defense? 
Has it been determined where Manafort is getting the funds to stage a full-on legal defense? I thought Mueller had frozen everything that came from foreign soil, which was almost his entire net worth. Also, he is already more than ten million in debt.

 
And it looks like they might royally skrew McCabe just as he's heading to the sunset. This, with Sessions under extreme pressure to "Do Something." - I will say it looks like the OPR made the call here.
Yet another example of why it's incredibly stupid for the President of the United States to tweet out nonsense off the top of his head. Even if the McCabe firing is warranted there's no way to credibly argue it's on the up and up after the President puts out statements attacking him and raising the issue of his pension. He's corrupted the process.

 

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